Martial Arts News

Sean O'Malley wants to be in the UFC’s good graces.

O’Malley (19-3) is scheduled to fight Aiemann Zahabi (14-2) at UFC White House on June 14. A company man through and through, O’Malley is honored to have the opportunity to fight at the White House in a one-of-a-kind event. “Suga” will look to capitalize on the opportunity and build his brand so he can earn more outside the Octagon. 

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O’Malley believes it’s not a good idea to make enemies with the UFC. Speaking of which, O’Malley doesn’t think Tom Aspinall was wise to sign with the management of Eddie Hearn, who isn’t exactly a friend of Dana White.Building a Relationship “I have a good relationship with the UFC,” O’Malley said on "The Ariel Helwani Show.” “I am honored that they asked me to be on the White House card, it’s gonna be huge for me. I’m gonna go out there, make some money. But I’m gonna go out there and build the ‘Suga’ brand. I’m gonna go out there and put on a beautiful performan…

Jorge Masvidal doesn’t think a matchup between Islam Makhachev and Ilia Topuria will be closely contested. 

According to Masvidal, a matchup between Makhachev and Topuria will be a lopsided affair — one way or another. Masvidal believes Makhachev will either dominate Topuria on the ground or get knocked out clean by “El Matador.” While Masvidal considers Topuria faster than Makhachev, he believes that the Dagestani welterweight champion is ruthless on the ground. Masvidal also highlights Makhachev’s dominant welterweight title win over Jack Della Maddalena at UFC 322, which he saw in person. Makhachev ragdolled Maddalena, whom “Gamebred” ranks among the best strikers in the sport with decent wrestling defense.

‘It Could Go Both Ways’ “The way I see it, it’s non-competitive, but it could go both ways,” Masvidal said on the ”Death Row MMA” podcast. “I could see Islam taking him down and making his day very, very long at the office or Ilia getting in there, using his ha…

Georgio Poullas allegedly refused to grapple against Arman Tsarukyan at Hype FC despite being offered a massive contract. 

Tsarukyan and Poullas met in a freestyle wrestling match at RAF 6 last month. Poullas was accused of multiple fouls, penalized, and lost the match by points. Tsarukyan maintained his composure until the end of the bout and then punched Poullas as the whole arena erupted in a massive brawl. 

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Days later, Tsarukyan and Poullas were booked in a rematch, this time in submission-only grappling, at Hype FC on March 11 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. However, the booking fell through within hours as Poullas pulled out, citing his preference to compete in freestyle wrestling at RAF. Tsarukyan and Poullas will now meet in a rematch at RAF 7 on March 28 in Tampa. 

Hype FC CEO Armand Martirosian claims he was turned down by Poullas despite offering a lucrative contract. According to Martirosian, he offered Poullas $2.6 million fo…

Paddy Pimblett would like to prove that Charles Oliveira’s grappling isn’t levels above his own. 

Oliveira challenged Max Holloway for the BMF belt in the main event at UFC 326 on Saturday. Oliveira controlled Holloway on the ground for over 20 minutes to earn a dominant unanimous decision victory. Reacting to the fight, Pimblett says he would love the opportunity to fight Oliveira. While fans might consider Oliveira’s grappling to be on a different level than Pimblett’s, “The Baddy” knows that’s not the case. Pimblett believes he will end up having a striking battle with Oliveira if they fight.

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The Same Level? “I'd love to fight Charles, though,” Pimblett said on YouTube. “Everyone talks about his grappling and thinks it's levels above mine, but I know it isn’t. If I fought Charles, I'd probably end up having a war on the feet.”

While Oliveira (37-11) threatened submissions on the ground, Holloway did an excellent job of defending against a f…

Jorge Masvidal believes Ilia Topuria is on a different level than Justin Gaethje. 

Interim lightweight champion Gaethje will challenge the champion Topuria in a title unifier in the main event at UFC White House on June 14. A former training partner of Topuria, Masvidal has always lauded the undefeated Georgian-Spaniard’s skillset and power. Masvidal believes “El Matador” will hand Gaethje a beating that he won’t be able to recover from. “Gamebred” predicts that Topuria will retire Gaethje at the White House in June.

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Ilia Flatlines Him “I think Ilia does Gaethje worse… I’ve trained with Ilia plenty,” Masvidal said on the "Death Row MMA” podcast. “Since his first UFC fight, I’ve been calling it, ‘This guy’s gonna be champ.’ He’s gonna beat the f—-ing brakes off [Gaethje]. He retires Homer Simpson that day in the f—-ing cage. He’ll never come back fighting that dude. Homer Simpson is not walking out of that alive. I think [Ilia] just flatlines him…

Ronda Rousey was not impressed with the UFC White House lineup. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

Ronda Rousey was feeling triumphant after Most Valuable Promotions added Francis Ngannou to its upcoming event.

Rousey will headline the MVP event against Gina Carano in a card broadcast via Netflix on May 16 at the Intuit Dome in Los Angeles. On Tuesday, the promotion announced that Ngannou will face Philipe Lins in the evening’s heavyweight co-main event. Ngannou, a former UFC heavyweight champion, was released from his Professional Fighters League contract last week.

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"[Ngannou vs. Lins] joins [Rousey vs. Carano] on Netflix May 16,” Rousey wrote on social media. How’s THAT for a bamf laden double headliner? That’s what happens when you put fighters and fans ahead of shareholders.Shots Fired “P.S. UFC’s White House card sucks,” Rousey added, punctuating her post with a double-middle finger emoji.

#NgannouVsLins joins #…

Jon Jones wants out of his UFC contract. | Getty/UFC

Jon Jones has a different perspective on why he was excluded from the UFC White House card.

While Dana White recently claimed that Jones was never seriously considered for the June 14 event, “Bones” insists that he and his team were in “real negotiations” to compete at the event. Ultimately, the former UFC two-division champion claims that the promotion came through with an offer that significantly lower than he wanted.

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“Hey everyone, I wanted to address Dana White’s comments from this past weekend, because the truth matters to me and the fans,” Jones wrote on X. “Dana, you were heated about why I’m not on the White House card, but let’s clear something up. My team and I were actually negotiating with the UFC for that fight. Real negotiations. I even came down from my original number, and what was I offered in return? I was lowballed.

“Yes, I have arthritis in my hip and it’s pain…

Ilia Topuria is a big favorite against Justin Gaethje. | Getty/UFC

As one might expect, Ilia Topuria is a considerable betting favorite against Justin Gaethje in the UFC White House main event.

According to online oddsmaker BetOnline.ag, Topuria is listed as a -600 favorite heading into the lightweight championship unification bout. Gaethje, the interim 155-pound champ, checks in as a +425 underdog. Odds are subject to change as the event approaches.

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Topuria began his UFC tenure at 145 pounds, where he captured championship gold with a knockout of Alexander Volkanovski at UFC 298. He defended the strap with a first-round KO of Max Holloway at UFC 308 before vacating the belt to move up to lightweight. “El Matador” claimed the vacant 155-pound throne with a first-round KO of Charles Oliveira at UFC 317 this past June.

Gaethje, meanwhile, will be making his third attempt at undisputed lightweight gold after coming up short against Khab…

Francis Ngannou will return to MMA competition in May. | PFL MMA

It didn’t take long for Francis Ngannou to find a new home.

The former UFC heavyweight champion will return to MMA competition when he faces Philipe Lins in the co-main event of a Most Valuable Promotions card on Netflix on May 16. The card takes place at the Intuit Center in Los Angeles and is headlined by a women’s featherweight clash between Ronda Rousey and Gina Carano.

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Ngannou was released from his Professional Fighters League contract late last week. The Cameroonian-born Frenchman competed once for PFL in three years, knocking out Renan Ferreira at the “Battle of the Giants” in October 2024. Ngannou has won his last seven MMA appearances — six of which came under the UFC banner. “The Predator” has also competed twice in professional boxing since parting ways with the UFC in 2023, losing a decision to Tyson Fury and suffering a knockout loss against Anthony Joshua.…

Charles Oliveira was in complete control against Max Holloway. | Getty/UFC

After winning all five rounds against Max Holloway to capture the BMF belt in the main event of UFC 326 on Saturday in Las Vegas, Charles Oliveira made a point of repeating the gesture from his last victory at UFC Rio, going straight from the Octagon to talk to the UFC Brazil broadcast team.

This time, however, Demian Maia, a key figure in his camp for Holloway and Mateusz Gamrot, was not on the broadcast team. Even so, Oliveira made a point of thanking him.

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“Demian, you told me: ‘Calm down, no rush’. Sorry for not getting the submission, but I think I did 100% of what we trained: control, stick to him and not give him any opportunity to work,” explained the Brazilian, who was positioned next to commentators Vitor Miranda, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and announcer Andre Azevedo.

While in Europe on a seminar tour, Maia spoke with Sherdog.com about the tactic discu…

Sharabutdin Magomedov has a message for Jorge Masvidal after their grappling matchup fell through. 

Magomedov and Masvidal were scheduled to meet in a grappling match at Hype FC on March 11 in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. However, Masvidal has pulled out of the matchup due to undisclosed reasons. UFC veteran Edson Barboza now steps up to grapple Magomedov on short notice. 

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Magomedov accuses Masivdal of ducking him. Responding to a previous callout, “Shara Bullet” warns that Brazil is not Masvidal’s hometown of Miami.

“Jorge, amigo, Brazil is not Miami, Russia is not Miami,” Magomedov said on Instagram. “Don’t play with the pirate.

Stay on the Beach “You made the right decision running away from meeting me on March 11 in Rio,” Magomedov added in a written response. “Because after that trip, you might not have come back the same man. You would have had to answer for the words you sent my way. And deleting that video... wouldn't have saved you…

Israel Adesanya is rooting for his former foe to become a three-division champ. | Getty/UFC

Israel Adesanya and Alex Pereira have shared one of the healthiest rivalries in combat sports history. 

Pereira is scheduled to fight Ciryl Gane (13-2) for the interim UFC heavyweight title in the co-main event at Freedom Fights 250 on June 14 at the White House. Adesanya is backing his former foe Pereira to defeat Gane. While Adesanya knows that Gane has elite movement, he believes “Poatan” can shut the Frenchman’s lights out. 

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“I hope Alex wins,” Adesanya said on YouTube. “Gane’s no joke. Gane can dance around, Gane’s slick. But I think Alex can knock him out.”A Storied Rivalry Pereira (13-3) defeated Adesanya (24-5) twice in Glory Kickboxing, even handing him his only kickboxing knockout loss. While Adesanya transitioned to MMA and went on to become the UFC middleweight champion, Pereira’s career became somewhat stagnant. However, …